toxicsugarninja: okay, so the last chapter was a little short and extremely filler-y. I get that there wasn't much to review on, but it's nice to know that people are still reading this (if that's the case). Even if you think the chapter's not as great as it could have been, I'd appreciate some constructive criticism. Also, sorry about the little mix up! I just caught it! The last chapter was CHAPTER 3 and this one is CHAPTER 4--- i fixed it, but if you were confused before, i hope this clears things up. This chapter is sort of the aftermath of my writer's block finally cracking--- a fair warning to the flood of detail that's about to follow. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Four: Nightmare

The clouds were thick and gray as they stretched across the sky. Or maybe it was the sky itself, having never seen the sun or a speck of stardust. And below that gloomy excuse of space, laid an expansion of ocean. Dark water fought to kiss the sky and the sand was bland and cold. There were no Caribbean colors in a place so cold and desolate.

Rachael wiggled her toes in the cold sand. Yeah, it was definitely sand. She had only been to an ocean twice in her life and the experience had always carried a sense of beauty and warmth to it, despite the grime of the shore. But this was far from what she had observed of the ocean. Given, that she had never been to an ocean at night, but she had always imagined it to be decorated with a deep blue sky and the light of dancing stars. Not these colorblind shades of gray.

A cool breeze swathed through her hair, tossing it with reckless abandon. She shivered. What was this place? And how and why was she here? She closed her eyes, plopping right down on the beach and striving to find comfort in the situation. A "happy place" had never really worked for her. With her wild imagination, she felt it was sort of unfair, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She took calm breathes and let the wind roll over her skin. This place was lonely. Hell, it looked lonely. But what was so bad about being alone? At this her tension eased. She was alone. And if she was truly alone, there was nothing there that could hurt her. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. And with that looming note, she opened her eyes.

Shock stopped her heart for a second or two, doubling the beats to make up for lost oxygen soon after. She stood, her attention fully captured by what appeared to be a beam of light shooting out from the murky waters. She swallowed her pulse and cautiously padded toward the sea. She felt drawn to it. And if this was a dream, albeit a very realistic dream, then she needed to investigate to get out of here. She stripped of her sweatpants, tossing them halfheartedly onto the shore behind her. She was dreaming. She could very well swim naked if she damn well wanted to. And if for some reason she wasn't dreaming, well, at least she wouldn't have been weighed down and risked drowning. She wadded into the water, surprised to find the soft ocean floor to be just as cold if not colder than the bare shore. And odder still, everywhere she stepped was smooth and undisturbed by neither stone, nor creature. It was as if no life had survived this beach. She swallowed, bracing herself for the cold impact as she tossed her hair up into a tight bun.

Well, here we go.

And with years of swimming expertise under her belt, she expelled all her air and dove toward the bottom. The water was too murky to see clearly, but the light was too bright to ignore. She gave a few forceful kicks, struggling to stay underwater as her lungs began to crave more air. At last, her hand snatched out to claim her rather tiny prize. And just like that, the light was gone. And she was trapped.

She slammed her feet against the ocean floor, propelling herself upward. But no matter how hard she kicked and struggled, it seemed that the effort was futile. She couldn't tell if she was nearing the sky or if she was moving much at all. It was like the ocean was rising with her, fighting to bury her back down to the sand below. Her lungs ached and a shrill voice in the back of her head shattered any remaining serenity that she had harbored. "You're going to drown!" It screamed. "You're going to die."

She took in a gulp of air before she could stop herself, sputtering on what was most definitely not pure oxygen. Tears drizzled from out the corners of her eyes and were lost to the sea as instinct took over and she shot through the current like a bat out of hell. And as her vision blurred, she beheld two glowing red spheres floating beside her. Something slick and strong coiled around her leg, tugging her back down into the abyss. She was vaguely aware of odd warmth radiating from the little device in her hand. The next few moments happened in a rapid and blurry sequence. There was a bright light accompanied by one of the most horrid noises that she had ever heard in her life. Then the coil was gone and she was airborne for but a moment.

Rachael coughed, her lungs striving to expel the water from her system. In a desperate attempt, she vomited, the water leaving her stomach as well. Her heart thundered in her chest and she struggled to focus as the last few drops of water dribbled out of her nose. Drowning, she mused, would most definitely be one of these worst ways to die.

Her hazy eyes fell on the small metallic device before her. Swallowing the bitter taste of sea water, she reached toward the small treasure. What was it? And what was with that light? Hesitantly, the pads of her fingers pressed against the smooth screen of the device. Before she could inquire as to why it was so warm, a slight pressure bore down on her hand and she was staring face to foot at a large and what appeared to be leather boot. Rachael nearly choked; coughing up a small amount of water that she hadn't thought was left. She took a slow, thoughtful blink, the water fluttering off her long eyelashes. The boot was black and seemingly normal with the exception of a metal skull plate tacked onto the vamp. She had to admit it was pretty cool, but seeing any symbol of death in such an abysmal place screamed trouble.

"ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEAAAH!"

The boot was gone and she found herself giving this new stranger her back in order to face the horrid monster before them. Whoever was behind her, if it wore shoes, chances were it was more intelligent and more rational than a sea monster. She stood, brushing off a small bout of dizziness. Her shoulders tensed as from the water arose a giant beast. She swallowed; eyes wide as she stared at something she had only thought existed in myth. Large tentacles whipped about in a frenzy, some white, some nearly black. Rows of jagged teeth were on display, a giant white tail slamming into the water in rage. It was unlike anything she had ever seen in any sort of movie. But those glowing red eyes brought a very simple and very accurate name to her mind. Water demon.

It was then that the monster grew still and those crimson eyes glared at her with something so akin to hate that it was astounding. If this thing hated her for whatever reason that meant it was much more complex than she had thought. And ultimately, much more dangerous.

"Darkness water!"

The dark sea boiled and rose to a horrible swell. Rachael could only stare, wide eyed and fearful at the hundred foot tall tsunami rolling toward her. She had no time to run and shock forbade it. She could only watch. Arms were thrown around her, one draping what appeared to be some sort of red cloth. The other crashed her suddenly against a very bony and very male body. The roar of the water was deafening. She thought he spoke, but all sound was lost. Helplessly, she closed her eyes tight. So this was it? This is how it would end? She was going to drown or die from the force of impact with some stranger who she hadn't even fully seen. This couldn't be real. She couldn't die like this.

Comforting warmth snapped her attention to her fist. Curious, she uncurled her hand, surprised to see the little device pulsing with a faint light once again. The stranger uttered a pained sound of disgust. But despite his resentment of the object, thin pale fingers cautiously ran over the tiny screen. It was then that something peculiar happened. The soft light ceased and a beam of jet black shot from the device, spouting out to encompass them in what Rachael could only describe as some sort of force field. The water thundered over them, falling all around them as if they had some sort of super umbrella. When it was over, the stranger retracted his hand only to perch it on her hip in an unnerving display of possession. He lowered what Rachael now guessed was some sort of cloak. She cringed a bit, not at all liking the closeness, but she supposed it was better than being monster chow.

The water demon bared its teeth, not at all pleased. It gave a short snort of distain and sunk once again into the deep dark ocean.

There was a small moment of silence where Rachael tried to piece her mind back together. She felt the need to say something, to ask about a million different questions to this entity, but all that came out was, "Well, you don't see that everyday."

Deep rumbles resonated in the man's chest. A shiver shot down her spine at the sound. Her throat was suddenly dry. Oh, yeah, the skull was definitely not a good sign.

She tactfully tried to wiggle away from the unwanted grasp, but it proved to be much more difficult than she imagined. Fingernails sent a sharp warning into her hip. Well, she supposed that if that's how he wanted to be, a thank you wasn't merited. She wrenched herself from the man's grasp, not even caring about subtlety.

Before she could blink, she was seized and whirled until she smacked against a broad chest, the shock of the movement sending the small device to fly from her hand. She was yanked to her tiptoes none too gently, too short to face her abuser. He bent to her height, his face next to hers. A bony cheek slid against her face, smeared with something flaky and reddish. Rachael struggled to catch her heart before it burst from her ribs. Golden wisps of hair fell across her eyes as a deep voice unlike any she had heard murmured into her ear.

"What is a girl like you doing out here all alone?"

She had no answer for that. It was too unexpected. She would have laughed and denounced it as one of the corniest and creepiest pick up lines she had ever heard if not for the man's less than hospitable demeanor.

And then something happened that she could not let go. Dry, velvet lips pressed lightly against the hollow where facial bones ended and neck began. The sensation sent an electrical current through her and a shocked gasp spilled from her mouth. Her body tingled, aching for the carnal pleasure that such actions promised. But her mind was shooting messages of fear to her heart. A teasing nibble triggered a reaction that she hadn't even known was really possible in the human body. She had heard that everyone had their "spots," or rather, places that when taunted would trigger such feelings and even reflexive movements. She had never taken it seriously. Fear reared its ugly head at the notion that a complete stranger knew more about her body than even she did. Worse yet, he knew how to manipulate it so easily. But as her knees gave out and long arms supported her weight, she was too lost in euphoria to acknowledge it. The stranger played upon that spot one final time and she was his. Her head lolled to the side in a silent offer and her eyelids fluttered. She was floating in some space between consciousness and dreamland, helpless as lips wandered further down her skin.

It was the hard, wet press of teeth that slammed her back into her body. She was fighting back before she even knew why she was so afraid. Her fists pounded into his back, nails finding an unguarded patch of skin near his shoulder where blue cloth was missing. The stranger flinched, but it seemed to be merely of shock rather than true pain. The teeth were gone and a merciless hand curled in her hair, pulling it taut until she yelped. She was ripped back to stare up, wild eyed at her attacker.

This wasn't a dream…

His eyes were a deep sapphire, but while a gem sparkled with light, they held nothing but coldness and despair. She felt chilled to the bone as she fell into those dark, blue, blue eyes so full of apathy. His face was all angles, hollow as if he were anorexic. Thin lines wormed their way over his nose, running together to curl back up underneath his left eye. They were scars, but so faint that she hadn't been sure on first glance. But it was not the scars, his gaunt features, or even those haunting eyes that shook her. It was a pair of dainty white fangs that flashed threateningly as purple lips receded into a snarl.

A resonating voice full of tyrannical authority hissed in her face. "Foolish human. Willing or not, you will serve your master."

… it was a nightmare.

He struck like a snake. Pale blue eyes were wide, staring at nothing as a sharp, ungodly pain racked through her nerves. Bloodless lips expertly worked the skin, mouth greedily nursing the wound. It was such an odd feeling, to have her life literally sucked right out of her body. But she had little time to marvel it as a scream tore from her throat.

The vampire held her closer, relishing the sound of her cries as he fed. He mentally smirked when they stopped and his victim was left limp, eyes rolling into the back of her head. Sated, he pulled back, sweeping up a few precious drops with a swift flick of his tongue as they bubbled from the wounds. He hadn't tasted human blood in so long. Data sustained him well enough, but blood… How could he pass up such an opportunity? He closed his eyes, lost in her flavor for a moment.

Neither were aware of the small dark light that pulsed dimly at their feet.

I hope it was entertaining, despite the lack of dialogue. :) Please READ and REVIEW!